CN108920011B

CN108920011B - Display panel, driving method thereof and display device

Info

Publication number: CN108920011B
Application number: CN201810847265.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蔡寿金; 刘冰萍; 陈国照
Original assignee: Xiamen Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Xiamen Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-27
Filing date: 2018-07-27
Publication date: 2023-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 2038-07-27
Also published as: CN108920011A

Abstract

The invention discloses a display panel, a driving method thereof and a display device, belonging to the technical field of display, wherein a display area comprises: the pixel switches of a plurality of gate lines arranged in parallel, a plurality of data lines arranged in parallel, a plurality of sub-pixels of which the pixels are positioned on the same row along the extension direction of the gate lines are electrically connected with the same gate line; the display area also comprises a plurality of touch control units, and each touch control unit comprises a first electrode, a first switch, a first control line and a first signal line; the extension direction of the first signal line is the same as that of the data line, and the extension direction of the first control line is the same as that of the gate line; the gate of the first switch is electrically connected to the first control line, the source of the first switch is electrically connected to the first signal line, and the drain of the first switch is electrically connected to the first electrode. Compared with the prior art, the display screen can meet the requirements of comprehensive screen development, the user experience is improved, and the quality of the display panel is improved.

Description

Display panel, driving method thereof and display device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of display technologies, and in particular, to a display panel, a driving method thereof, and a display device.

Background

With the development of the prior art, the display panel is widely applied to display products such as mobile phones and tablet computers as an information input tool. Fingerprint recognition is widely used as an access control method in display panels.

In order to enhance the user experience, a fingerprint identification unit is usually disposed in the display device, so that the user can perform fingerprint identification in operating the full-screen display product.

In the display device provided by the prior art, the fingerprint identification unit is usually located in the front non-display area or located at the back of the display device. The design of the non-display area positioned on the front reduces the screen occupation ratio and can not meet the development requirement of the current full-screen; being located on the back of the display device (e.g., cell phone) reduces the customer experience. In addition, additional process is required for assembling the fingerprint identification unit, thereby reducing the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel.

Therefore, how to improve the screen occupation ratio and ensure the customer experience for fingerprint identification is a technical problem to be solved urgently in the field.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, the invention provides a display panel, a driving method thereof and a display device.

The present invention provides a display panel including: a display area, the display area including: the pixel structure comprises a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of pixels, wherein the gate lines are arranged in parallel, the data lines are arranged in parallel, and the gate lines and the data lines are insulated in a crossed mode; each pixel comprises at least three sub-pixels, and each sub-pixel comprises a pixel switch and a pixel electrode; the grid electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the grid line, the source electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the data line, and the drain electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the pixel electrode; the pixel switches of a plurality of sub-pixels positioned on the same row along the extension direction of the gate line are electrically connected with the same gate line; the display area also comprises a plurality of touch control units, and each touch control unit comprises a first electrode, a first switch, a first control line and a first signal line; the extending direction of the first signal line is the same as that of the data line, and the extending direction of the first control line is the same as that of the gate line; the gate of the first switch is electrically connected to the first control line, the source of the first switch is electrically connected to the first signal line, and the drain of the first switch is electrically connected to the first electrode.

The invention provides a display device which comprises a display panel provided by the invention.

The invention also provides a driving method of the display panel, the display area further comprises a plurality of touch units, and each touch unit comprises a first electrode, a first switch, a first control line and a first signal line; the extension direction of the first signal line is the same as that of the data line, and the extension direction of the first control line is the same as that of the gate line; a grid electrode of the first switch is electrically connected with the first control line, a source electrode of the first switch is electrically connected with the first signal line, and a drain electrode of the first switch is electrically connected with the first electrode;

the driving method comprises the following steps:

display panel's working phase includes the fingerprint identification stage, and in the fingerprint identification stage, in proper order to first control line provide enable signal, switch on with the control rather than the first switch of electricity connection, provides the fingerprint identification signal through first signal line to first electrode, and first electrode detects fingerprint information.

Compared with the prior art, the display panel, the driving method thereof and the display device provided by the invention at least realize the following beneficial effects:

1. the touch control unit is integrated into the display area, a fingerprint identification area does not need to be additionally arranged, the area of the display area is increased, the requirement for comprehensive screen development is met, the user experience is improved, and the quality of the display panel is improved;

2. compared with the prior art, the fingerprint identification unit is assembled without adding a process, so that the manufacturing cost of the display panel is reduced, and the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel is improved.

Of course, it is not necessary for any product in which the present invention is practiced to achieve all of the above-described technical effects simultaneously.

Other features of the present invention and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial structural view of the region A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plane structure diagram of another display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB' of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line CC' of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a partial plan view of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line DD' of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a timing diagram illustrating a driving method of a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the numerical expressions and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention unless it is specifically stated otherwise.

The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail but are intended to be part of the specification where appropriate.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any particular value should be construed as exemplary only and not as limiting. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, further discussion thereof is not required in subsequent figures.

Referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, fig. 1 is a schematic plan view of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a schematic partial structure diagram of a region a in fig. 1. An embodiment of the present invention provides a display panel, including: the display area AA includes: a plurality of gate lines 11 arranged in parallel, a plurality of data lines 12 arranged in parallel, and a plurality of pixels 20, wherein the gate lines 11 and the data lines 12 are insulated in a crossing manner;

each pixel 20 comprises at least three sub-pixels 21, and each sub-pixel 21 comprises a pixel switch 211 and a pixel electrode 212; the gate electrode 21a of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the gate line 11, the source electrode 21b of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the data line 12, and the drain electrode 21c of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 212;

the pixel switches 211 of the plurality of sub-pixels 21 located in the same row along the extending direction of the gate line 11 are electrically connected to the same gate line 11;

the display area AA further includes a plurality of touch units 30, and each touch unit 30 includes a first electrode 33, a first switch 34, a first control line 31, and a first signal line 32; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the extending direction of the first signal line 32 is the same as the extending direction of the data line 12, and the extending direction of the first control line 31 is the same as the extending direction of the gate line 11; the gate 34a of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first control line 31, the source 34b of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first signal line 32, and the drain 34c of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first electrode 33.

The touch display substrate provided by the embodiment has a touch function and a display function. Specifically, the display area AA includes a plurality of pixels 20, and the plurality of pixels 20 are used for displaying image information to display a display function. Each pixel 20 comprises at least three sub-pixels 21, optionally the three sub-pixels 21 may be of different colors, for example each pixel 20 may comprise sub-pixels of three colors, red, green and blue. It should be noted that, the specific color and the number of the colors of the sub-pixels of the pixel 20 are not specifically limited in the present invention, for example, the pixel 20 may further include sub-pixels of four colors, i.e., red, green, blue and white, or sub-pixels of three colors, i.e., magenta, grass green and indigo, which is not repeated in this embodiment.

The display panel includes a plurality of gate lines 11 and data lines 12, and optionally, the gate lines 11 and the data lines 12 cross and are insulated to define regions where the sub-pixels 21 are located. Optionally, the extending directions of the gate lines 11 and the data lines 12 are perpendicular to each other, the extending direction of the gate lines 11 is a row direction, and the extending direction of the data lines 12 is a column direction. In the pixel 20, each sub-pixel 21 is controlled by a pixel switch 211, and all the pixel switches 211 in the same row of pixels 20 are electrically connected to the same gate line 11.

The display area AA further includes a plurality of touch units 30, and the touch units 30 are used for implementing a touch function. When the user performs a touch operation, the touch unit 30 may identify fingerprint information of a finger and perform a preset function according to the identified fingerprint information. Specifically, when a finger performs a touch operation on the display panel, the influence of the concave-convex degree and the concave-convex shape of the fingerprint at different positions on the finger on the capacitance of the first electrode 33 is different after the finger approaches or contacts the display panel. The fingerprint information can be obtained by analyzing the variation of the capacitances of the plurality of first electrodes 33. In the display panel provided by the embodiment, the first electrode 33 for identifying the fingerprint information is integrated in the display panel, and compared with the prior art, the fingerprint identification unit does not need to be additionally manufactured, so that the process difficulty is reduced, and the production efficiency is improved.

In the present embodiment, the shape and size of the first electrode 33 are not particularly limited. It can be understood that, since the first electrode 33 is used for identifying fingerprint information, the area of the first electrode 33 is not suitable to be large, and the larger the area of the first electrode 33, the lower the accuracy of fingerprint identification. Conversely, the smaller the area of the first electrode 33, the higher the accuracy of fingerprint recognition.

In the present embodiment, the first switch 34, the first control line 31, and the first signal line 32 are used to transmit an electrical signal to the first electrode 33. Specifically, the first control line 31 is used to control the on or off of the first switch 34. When the first switch 34 is turned on, the touch signal of the first signal line 32 is transmitted from the source 34b of the first switch 34 to the drain 34c of the first switch 34 and then to the corresponding first electrode 33, and the first electrode 33 performs touch detection, and transmits the detected touch sensing signal to the first control line 31 through the turned-on first switch 34. The display panel may be provided with a signal processing unit (not shown in the drawings), and the signal processing unit may obtain fingerprint information by calculating and analyzing the touch sensing signals of the first control lines 31 of the plurality of touch units 30.

In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present embodiment, the drain 34c of the first switch 34 is omitted in fig. 1, and the drain 34c of the first switch 34 is only illustrated by a frame in fig. 2. The first switch 34 further includes an active layer 34d, and the pixel switch 211 further includes an active layer 21d.

The display panel provided by the embodiment can at least achieve the following technical effects:

1. the touch control unit is integrated in the display area, a fingerprint identification area does not need to be additionally arranged, the area of the display area is increased, the requirement for comprehensive screen development is met, the user experience is improved, and the quality of the display panel is improved;

2. compared with the prior art, the fingerprint identification unit is assembled without increasing the process, the manufacturing cost of the display panel is reduced, and the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel is improved.

In some alternative embodiments, please continue to refer to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic plan view of another display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention; in the present embodiment, the gate lines 11 extend in the row direction X, and the data lines 12 extend in the column direction Y;

the first electrodes 33 of the touch units 30 are arranged in an array along the row direction X and the column direction Y;

the touch units 30 in the same row along the row direction X share the same first control line 31, and the touch units 30 in the same column along the column direction Y share the same first signal line 32.

When the display panel provided in this embodiment executes the touch function, the plurality of first control lines 31 sequentially receive the control signal to control the first switches 34 electrically connected thereto to be turned on.

Specifically, for example, fig. 3 illustrates only the case where the number of the first control lines 31 is 6. When the display panel shown in fig. 3 executes the touch function, at the first time, the first control line 311 receives the control signal to control the first row first switch 34 to be turned on, and the remaining first control lines 31 do not receive the control signal. Since the first row first switch 34 is turned on, the plurality of first signal lines 32 transmit the touch signal to the first row first electrodes 33 and receive the touch sensing signal of the first row first electrodes 33.

At a second time, the second first control line 312 receives a control signal to control the second row first switch 34 to be turned on, and the remaining first control lines 31 receive no control signal. Since the second row first switch 34 is turned on, the plurality of first signal lines 32 transmit the touch signal to the second row first electrodes 33 and receive the touch sensing signal of the second row first electrodes 33.

By analogy, the third first control line 313, the fourth first control line 314, the fifth first control line 315, and the sixth first control line 316 respectively receive control signals to complete touch detection.

It should be noted that the sequence in which the plurality of first control lines 31 receive the control signals is only exemplary, and the present embodiment is not limited to this.

Since the plurality of first control lines 31 receive the control signals one by one, the first signal lines 32 may transmit electrical signals to the first electrodes row by row, so that the first electrodes 33 detect touch information row by row. In this embodiment, the electrical signals of the plurality of first electrodes 33 can be independently transmitted and detected, and the first electrodes 33 located in the same row are electrically connected to different first signal lines 32, so that signal crosstalk does not occur between the first electrodes 33; the first electrodes in different rows are controlled by different first control lines 31, and no signal crosstalk occurs between them.

In the display panel provided by the embodiment, the touch units 30 located in the same row along the row direction X share the same first control line 31, so that the number of the first control lines 31 can be reduced, and the aperture ratio of the display panel can be improved. The touch units 30 in the same row along the row direction Y share the same first signal line 32, so that the number of the first signal lines 32 can be reduced, and the aperture ratio of the display panel can be further improved.

In some alternative embodiments, please refer to fig. 2 and fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line BB' in fig. 2. The first control line 31 and the gate line 11 are the same in material and are disposed in the same layer. Optionally, the display panel further includes a substrate base plate 00. In the process of manufacturing the display panel provided in this embodiment, the same conductive layer may be patterned to simultaneously form the plurality of first control lines 31 and the plurality of gate lines 11. Therefore, the first control line 31 is manufactured without additional process and additional material, which is beneficial to improving the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel and reducing the manufacturing cost. In addition, the first control line 31 and the gate line 11 are disposed on the same layer, and an additional film structure is not required, which is beneficial to the light and thin of the display panel.

In some alternative embodiments, referring to fig. 2 and 5, fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line CC' of fig. 2. In this embodiment, the data line 12, the gate line 11, and the first signal line 32 are respectively disposed on different film layers; in the direction perpendicular to the display panel, a portion of the traces of the first signal lines 32 overlaps the data lines 12. The direction perpendicular to the display panel is the Z direction in the figure.

In this embodiment, the first signal line 32 and the data line 12 are disposed on different film layers, and the first signal line 32 may be disposed on a side of the data line 12 facing away from the substrate base 00.

Only a part of the traces of the first signal lines 32 overlap the data lines 12. At the position of the first switch 34, the first signal line 32 and the data line 12 are not overlapped and are arranged alternately. The first signal line 32 needs to be routed away from the data line 12 at the location of the first switch 34 to make the first signal line 32 need to be electrically connected to the source 34b of the first switch 34.

In the direction perpendicular to the display panel, a part of the routing lines of the first signal lines 32 are overlapped with the data lines 12, so as to reduce the space occupied by the first signal lines 32 in the display area and improve the aperture ratio of the display panel.

In fig. 2 and fig. 5, for clearly illustrating the technical solution of the present embodiment, only a portion of the trace of the first signal line 32 and a portion of the data line 12 are overlapped as an example for explanation.

Optionally, referring to fig. 6 and fig. 7, fig. 6 is a schematic partial plan view of another display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view along line DD' in fig. 6. In this embodiment, the overlapping degree of the partial routing lines of the first signal lines 32 and the data lines 12 is higher. At positions other than the first switch 34, the orthographic projections of the partial traces of the first signal line 32 to the data line 12 all fall within the range of the data line 12. Optionally, in fig. 6 and fig. 7, only the width of the first signal line 32 is smaller than the width of the data line 12 for example, in other optional embodiments of the present invention, the width of the first signal line 32 may be larger than the width of the data line 12, and this embodiment is not repeated herein.

Optionally, with continued reference to fig. 2 and fig. 3, the active layers 21d of the pixel switches 211 are all "U" shaped; the active layer 34d of the first switch 34 has an "I" shape, and the extending direction of the active layer 34d of the first switch 34 is the same as the extending direction of the gate line 11.

In this embodiment, the active layer 21d of the pixel switch 211 is set to be "U" shaped, and two overlapping portions are formed on the active layer 21d and the gate line 11 in the same pixel switch 211, so that a dual-gate structure can be formed, which is beneficial to reducing the leakage current of the pixel switch 211 and improving the display quality.

The active layer 34d of the first switch 34 is set to be "I" shaped, and the active layer 34d and the gate line 11 both extend along the row direction, so that the space occupied by the first switch 34 in the display area AA can be reduced, the aperture ratio of the display panel can be increased, and the display quality can be improved.

In some alternative embodiments, please refer to fig. 8, wherein fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the gate 34a of the first switch 34 and the gate 21a of the pixel switch 211 are made of the same material and are disposed in the same layer, the source 34b of the first switch 34 and the source 21b of the pixel switch 211 are made of the same material and are disposed in the same layer, the drain 34c of the first switch 34 and the drain 21c of the pixel switch 211 are made of the same material and are disposed in the same layer, and the active layer 34d of the first switch 34 and the active layer 21d of the pixel switch 211 are made of the same material and are disposed in the same layer.

It should be noted that, in order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present embodiment, the cross-sectional view of the display panel shown in fig. 8 is not obtained according to a specific cross-sectional line, and the cross-sectional view of the display panel shown in fig. 8 is only for illustrating the positional relationship between the first switch 34 and the film layer of the pixel switch 211.

In the display panel provided by the embodiment, the first switch 34 and the pixel switch 211 can be simultaneously manufactured and formed in the manufacturing process, which is beneficial to improving the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel and reducing the manufacturing cost.

In some alternative embodiments, referring to fig. 1 and fig. 2, the display panel includes a common electrode, and the first electrode 33 is multiplexed as the common electrode.

In the display panel provided by the embodiment, the first electrode 33 is multiplexed into the common electrode, and the common electrode does not need to be additionally arranged, so that the thickness of the display panel is reduced, and the display panel is light and thin. Compared with the prior art, the display panel has the advantages that the electrode layer is arranged less, so that the penetration rate of the display panel is improved, and the display quality is improved.

In addition, in the working process of the display panel provided by the embodiment, the display stage and the fingerprint identification stage can be separately performed. In the display stage, the first electrode receives a common voltage signal and is used for realizing a display function; in the fingerprint identification stage, the first electrode receives the touch signal and outputs a touch sensing signal to perform fingerprint identification.

In some optional embodiments, please refer to fig. 9, and fig. 9 is a schematic plan view illustrating a display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. Each first electrode 33 covers N pixels 20; wherein N is a positive integer and is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 4. In fig. 9, only N =2 is described as an example. Optionally, N may be 1, 3, or 4, and the description of the embodiment is omitted.

Because first electrode 33 needs to carry out fingerprint identification, consequently N should not be too big, and too big can lead to first electrode 33's area great, and when the area of first electrode 33 was obviously greater than the change degree of fingerprint, the unsmooth information of unable effectual discernment fingerprint influenced fingerprint identification's accuracy.

When N is less than 1, on one hand, the area of the first electrode 33 is too small, the interference of the rest of the electrical signals in the display panel to the first electrode 33 is too large, and the accuracy of the electrical signals of the first electrode 33 is reduced, thereby causing the accuracy of fingerprint identification to be reduced; on the other hand, the number of the touch units increases, and the corresponding number of the first switches 34, the first control lines 31 and the first signal lines 32 increases, which may decrease the aperture ratio of the display panel.

Optionally, referring to fig. 1, each first electrode 33 covers 1 pixel 20, that is, N =1, in this embodiment, the area of the first electrode 33 is about the area of one pixel 20, and the fingerprint identification accuracy is higher.

Optionally, referring to fig. 1 or fig. 9, any one of the pixels 20 is covered by the first electrode 33.

Specifically, in the display panel provided by this embodiment, the first electrode 33 is disposed in the area where each pixel 20 is located, that is, fingerprint identification can be performed in the whole display area AA, so that the use experience of the user is improved.

Optionally, referring to fig. 10, fig. 10 is a schematic plan view of another display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display area AA includes a first area A1, and the first electrode 33 and the first switch 34 are located only in the first area A1.

In this embodiment, display panel can carry out local fingerprint identification, and is concrete, can carry out fingerprint identification in first region A1, and touch-control unit's quantity is less, can improve fingerprint identification signal processing's speed, promotes display panel's display quality, promotes user experience.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a display device which comprises the display panel provided by the invention. Referring to fig. 11, fig. 11 is a schematic plan view of a display device according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 11 provides a display device 1000 including the display panel 100 according to any of the above embodiments of the present invention. The embodiment of fig. 11 is only an example of a mobile phone, and the display device 1000 is described, it is to be understood that the display device provided in the embodiment of the present invention may be other display devices with a display function, such as a computer, a television, and a vehicle-mounted display device, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a driving method of the display panel. Referring to fig. 3 and 12 in combination, fig. 12 is a timing diagram of a driving method of a display panel according to an embodiment of the invention. Wherein, the display panel includes: a display area AA, the display area AA including: a plurality of gate lines 11 arranged in parallel, a plurality of data lines 12 arranged in parallel, and a plurality of pixels 20, wherein the gate lines 11 and the data lines 12 are insulated in a crossing manner; each pixel 20 comprises at least three sub-pixels 21, and each sub-pixel 21 comprises a pixel switch 211 and a pixel electrode 212; the gate electrode 21a of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the gate line 11, the source electrode 21b of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the data line 12, and the drain electrode 21c of the pixel switch 211 is electrically connected to the pixel electrode 212; the pixel switches 211 of the plurality of sub-pixels 21 positioned in the same row along the extending direction of the gate line 11 are electrically connected to the same gate line 11; the display area AA further includes a plurality of touch units 30, each touch unit 30 includes a first electrode 33, a first switch 34, a first control line 31 and a first signal line 32; wherein, the extending direction of the first signal line 32 is the same as the extending direction of the data line 12, and the extending direction of the first control line 31 is the same as the extending direction of the gate line 11; the gate 34a of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first control line 31, the source 34b of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first signal line 32, and the drain 34c of the first switch 34 is electrically connected to the first electrode 33;

the driving method comprises the following steps: the working phase of the display panel includes a fingerprint identification phase T2, in the fingerprint identification phase T2, an enable signal is sequentially provided to the first control line 31 to control the first switch 34 electrically connected thereto to be turned on, a fingerprint identification signal is provided to the first electrode 33 through the first signal line 32, and the first electrode 33 detects fingerprint information.

In this embodiment, only the first switch 34 is an N-type thin film transistor and the enable signal is a high level signal. Optionally, when the first switch is a P-type thin film transistor, the enable signal is a low level signal. In this embodiment, the fingerprint identification signal provided by the first signal line 32 is a pulse signal.

Since the plurality of first control lines 31 receive the enable signals one by one, the first control line 311, the second control line 312, the third control line 313, the fourth control line 314, the fifth control line 315, and the sixth control line 316 sequentially receive the enable signals to control the plurality of first switches 34 electrically connected thereto to be turned on one by one. The first signal line 32 may transmit an electrical signal to the first electrode 33 row by row, so that the first electrode 33 detects touch information row by row. In this embodiment, the electrical signals of the plurality of first electrodes 33 can be independently transmitted and detected, and the first electrodes 33 located in the same row are electrically connected to different first signal lines 32, respectively, so that crosstalk of signals does not occur between the first electrodes 33; the first electrodes in different rows are controlled by different first control lines 31, and no signal crosstalk occurs between them.

In some alternative embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 3 and 12, the display panel includes a common electrode 50, and the first electrode 33 is multiplexed as the common electrode 50; the operation phases of the display panel further include a display phase T1, in the display phase T1, an enable signal is provided to all the first control lines 31 to control all the first switches 34 to be turned on, and a common voltage signal is provided to the first electrodes 33 through the first signal lines 32.

In this embodiment, only the first switch 34 is an N-type thin film transistor and the enable signal is a high level signal. In the display period T1, the first control line 311 to the sixth control line 316 all receive the enable signal to control the plurality of first switches 34 electrically connected thereto to be in the on state, and the first signal line 32 provides the common voltage signal to the first electrode 33 for implementing the display function. The common voltage signal is a relatively constant voltage signal.

According to the embodiment, the display panel, the driving method thereof and the display device provided by the invention at least realize the following beneficial effects:

with the touch unit integration to the display area, need not additionally set up the fingerprint identification region, increased the area of display area, satisfy the demand of comprehensive screen development, promote user's experience, improve display panel's quality. Compared with the prior art, the fingerprint identification unit is assembled without adding a process, so that the manufacturing cost of the display panel is reduced, and the manufacturing efficiency of the display panel is improved.

Although some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of examples, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A display panel, comprising:

a display area, the display area comprising: the pixel structure comprises a plurality of gate lines, a plurality of data lines and a plurality of pixels, wherein the gate lines are arranged in parallel, the data lines are arranged in parallel, and the gate lines and the data lines are insulated in a crossed mode; the gate lines extend in a row direction, and the data lines extend in a column direction;

each pixel comprises at least three sub-pixels, and each sub-pixel comprises a pixel switch and a pixel electrode; the grid electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the grid line, the source electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the data line, and the drain electrode of the pixel switch is electrically connected with the pixel electrode; the pixel switches of a plurality of sub-pixels positioned on the same row along the extension direction of the gate line are electrically connected with the same gate line;

the display area further comprises a plurality of touch units, and each touch unit comprises a first electrode, a first switch, a first control line and a first signal line; wherein each of the first electrodes covers at least one of the pixels; the first electrodes of the touch units are arranged in an array along the row direction and the column direction; the touch units in the same row along the row direction share the same first control line, and the touch units in the same column along the column direction share the same first signal line; the display panel comprises a common electrode, and the first electrode is multiplexed as the common electrode;

the extension direction of the first signal line is the same as that of the data line, and the extension direction of the first control line is the same as that of the gate line;

a gate of the first switch is electrically connected to the first control line, a source of the first switch is electrically connected to the first signal line, and a drain of the first switch is electrically connected to the first electrode; among the sub-pixels covered by the first electrode, the sub-pixel adjacent to the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode is a first sub-pixel, and in the row direction, an active layer of the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode overlaps with a pixel electrode of the first sub-pixel covered by the first electrode; in the column direction, the active layer of the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode overlaps the active layer of the pixel switch connected to the first sub-pixel covered by the first electrode; the active layer of the first switch is I-shaped, and the extending direction of the active layer of the first switch is the same as the extending direction of the gate line; the active layers of the pixel switches are all U-shaped;

the data line, the gate line and the first signal line are respectively arranged on different film layers; in the direction perpendicular to the display panel, part of the routing lines of the first signal lines are overlapped with the data lines.

2. The display panel according to claim 1,

the first control line and the gate line are made of the same material and are arranged in the same layer.

3. The display panel according to claim 1,

the grid electrode of the first switch and the grid electrode of the pixel switch are made of the same material and are arranged on the same layer, the source electrode of the first switch and the source electrode of the pixel switch are made of the same material and are arranged on the same layer, the drain electrode of the first switch and the drain electrode of the pixel switch are made of the same material and are arranged on the same layer, and the active layer of the first switch and the active layer of the pixel switch are made of the same material and are arranged on the same layer.

4. The display panel according to claim 1,

each first electrode covers N pixels; wherein N is a positive integer and is more than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to 4.

5. The display panel according to claim 1,

any one of the pixels is covered by the first electrode.

6. The display panel according to claim 1,

the display area includes a first area, and the first electrode and the first switch are located only in the first area.

7. A display device characterized by comprising the display panel according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A driving method of a display panel is characterized in that,

the display panel includes:

the extending direction of the first signal line is the same as that of the data line, and the extending direction of the first control line is the same as that of the gate line;

a gate of the first switch is electrically connected to the first control line, a source of the first switch is electrically connected to the first signal line, and a drain of the first switch is electrically connected to the first electrode; among the sub-pixels covered by the first electrode, the sub-pixel adjacent to the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode is a first sub-pixel, and in the row direction, an active layer of the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode and a pixel electrode of the first sub-pixel covered by the first electrode overlap; in the column direction, the active layer of the first switch electrically connected to the first electrode overlaps the active layer of the pixel switch connected to the first sub-pixel covered by the first electrode; the active layer of the first switch is I-shaped, and the extending direction of the active layer of the first switch is the same as the extending direction of the gate line; the active layers of the pixel switches are all U-shaped;

the data line, the gate line and the first signal line are respectively arranged on different film layers; in the direction perpendicular to the display panel, part of the routing lines of the first signal lines are overlapped with the data lines;

the driving method includes:

the working stage of the display panel comprises a fingerprint identification stage, in the fingerprint identification stage, enabling signals are sequentially provided for the first control line so as to control the first switch electrically connected with the first control line to be conducted, and providing a fingerprint identification signal to the first electrode through the first signal line, wherein the first electrode detects fingerprint information.

9. The method for driving a display panel according to claim 8,

the working phase of the display panel further comprises a display phase, in the display phase, enabling signals are provided for all the first control lines to control all the first switches to be conducted, and common voltage signals are provided for the first electrodes through the first signal lines.